President of the brown bear country Russia, the life of a manly man, Vladimir Putin

   Childhood and Early Life Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on October 7, 1952, in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Russia. He was the youngest of three children born to Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin and Maria Ivanovna Shelomova. Putin's father worked as a factory foreman and his mother was a homemaker. Putin's paternal grandfather, Spiridon Ivanovich Putin, was a cook for Lenin and Stalin. Growing up in a communal apartment in Leningrad, Putin was exposed to the harsh realities of Soviet life from an early age. He was a quiet child who enjoyed reading and sports, including judo and sambo. Putin's father instilled in him a love of Russian literature and history, which would later play a significant role in his political ideology. Education and Early Career Putin attended a local high school in Leningrad, where he was known for his academic achievements and his love of sports. After graduating from high school in 1970, Putin enrolled at Leningrad State University, wher